IRMO12HD

BeI will be in Barcelona July 25-28 before vision.  One recommendation I got from the blog was to try Barcelona day tours...we are doing a half day with them.  We are staying at an air bnb near segrada familia but there are tons of hotels near Las ramblas if you want....we wanted to be a bit more quiet and there are tons of restaurants and grocery stores out where we are.  I know park guel is a must and pretty much anything gaudi related is amazing.  We also are planning on the Picasso and Miro museums. 
   I've been warned there are a lot of pickpockets so traveler beware!
I know @hayley_bopp and @Traveler will have some great advice to share.  Jane

Hotel 1898!!! Things to see: La Sagrada Familia, Park Güell, Casa Milà, Casa Batlló, Mercado de La Boqueria, Montjuïc, Plaça de Catalunya, Palau de la Música Catalana, Güell Palace, La Rambla, Palau de la Música Catalana, Tibidabo, Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, Gaudí House Museum, Picasso Museum, Basilica of Santa Maria del Mar, etc.
And that is the short list. All beautiful places and if you enjoy them, there are many other cities to explore in España, especially the northwest providence of Galicia which is near and dear to me. DON"T forget to eat authentic Paella Valencia !!! Yum! Yum!  ??

Did a cruise out of Barcelona a few years back. There wasn't a hotel that  we found that was super convenient to the cruise port so we stayed by the Basilica in an apartment about a block away, Marina Apartments on Marina. It came with a full kitchen, living area and king bed. We used the Hop on Hop off bus, a three day pass I think, to move around the city. Besides the Sagrada Familia we enjoyed the Casa Balto, Park Gruell, and Magic Fountain area. Are only day tour was to Montserrat which was very informative and beautiful. Las Ramblas was cool to walk but I would not eat there, lots of better restaurants around. Do hit a few neighborhood tapas bars, soo much fun. Make sure you purchase tickets ahead of time. You will save so much wait time. We took taxi from airport to apartment for convenience. Subway system was easy to use as well.  Check out TripAdvisor and you tube for info and videos. English was spoken by most staff. After cruise we took RC transfer to airport with no issues. Always felt safe and followed the same common sense we do back in the US. 

We were there 2 years ago and are going back next year. We stayed at Hotel 1898. And will be staying there again.   The roof top bar is a must. We walked  down Las Rambla and had Tapas and Sangria all 5 days we were there. Local taps and people are a lot of fun and food is so good.   Two  days before and 3 days after our cruise.  Shopping and restaurants that the hotel recommended were excellent.  You hear about pick pockets and at times can spot them. Be smart and alert.  Otherwise go to Park Gruell and Sagrada Familia is awe inspiring.  Took taxis from and to the airport and the cruise terminal.  We also did Montserrat.  Very beautiful as well.  If you go to Santorini, Greece do the non ship wine tour.   It goes to 3 wineries and is worth the cost.  Only 8 people and the driver and a sommelier.   

Nothing on this end either.  I'm with @twangster -- there's a lot of number crunching this morning with #2 pencil's ..... weighing the pros and cons to come up with, "What do we do now" scenario's........ We're all praying that they honor it, but not going to go crazy if they don't (although we all know there will be "those" people that will cry foul and become instant legal experts.

Good one! That made me laugh.

Yes this happened to me. I had my RCCL advisor contact Crown and Anchor and they had me sign out and sign back in and it was back in there. But yes it was a weird glitch. 

I noticed yesterday (during the exciting "Race for the Booze") that my C&A # no longer appears when I go to the RCL Booked (i.e., Cruise Planner) page.  I was able to add it back in today, but am curious as to why it disappeared.  Has this happened to anyone else?

I guess what I'm having difficulty with us why people are so irate.  They knew it was a mistake and they are infuriated that it won't be honored.  I get that RC initially said they would, and that it's annoying....another reason for us to shake our heads at the IT department and how the different departments aren't talking.  But I'm not going to stop cruising royal like some people are threatening.  Good grief.  This company was immensely fair over my Cuba trip and this drink thing doesn't remotely impact my experience on the ships.  Wish people would get a little perspective.  Jane

I think everyone knew this was a pricing mistake from the moment it was spotted, especially if you have been following drink package prices.
I bought it at the $18/day rate for a couple sailings knowing full well it was a mistake and very likely refunded. Like they say in the lotto business, cant win if you don't play!

While this is true that it would likely give them the ability to rescind this, the question they would have to answer is whether or not it is worth the good vs bad PR.  Assuming an average loss of $36 ($54 - 18), and picking a wild number, say 100,000 days purchased at this price, that's only $3.6 Million they would lose.  While this sounds like a lot, consider that if they are in a situation where they give $200 OBC to all passengers during a cruise for issues (weather, mechanical, etc) on a ship with 5,000 passengers, that's $1 Million.  If they give a 50% voucher off a future cruise (which does happen occasionally), that's in the same ballpark as the drink package snafu (again, assuming my 100,000 number is anywhere near correct).  If we assume the average was a 7 day cruise, that would mean more than 14,000 passengers got that rate.  Again, I have no idea if this is correct and I could be off by a factor of 10 or 100!  But it makes for a reasonable assumption, to me, anyway.
Bottom line, there is likely an accountant who's very busy with a spreadsheet this morning. 
I'd even be happy if they came back and split the difference... say gave it to us at $30/day instead of $18.  My wife and I aren't big drinkers and we're going on a 3 day/4 day B2B.  We were only considering the drink package for the 4 day because we have relatives joining us for that one.  I was able to snag the $18 for both, though, because it was well worth it.  And since we could easily drink 2 per day, $18/day is very reasonable.  At $30/day, throw in a coffee or two and we're still in the right ball park.  At $54/day, that's 5ish alcohol drinks and that's a lot for us.  

I wouldn't want to be working the phones at RCI when they decide to reneg.?

I am doing a Caribbean sailing in Oct 2020 from Miami and the rate applied.

I grabbed it for our TA in November 2020.  If they take it away, then I'll just wait for Black Friday sales.  It sure would be nice if they let us keep it, though . . . Fingers crossed!!!

Several people have messaged RCL on Facebook and they have all been told that the error will be honored for those who bought it.  Still crossing fingers.

Oh yes, THANK YOU @kuruczpa !!!!

I grabbed it for our TA in November 2020.  If they take it away, then I'll just wait for Black Friday sales.  It sure would be nice if they let us keep it, though . . . Fingers crossed!!!

Well you could always get a fancy coffee. ?

I like to get a coffee as soon as I board and then get my first drink with lunch! ☕??

Kill two birds with one stone -- Royal Dream "spirited coffee"!

I'm U.S. and got it.
2019 sail dates also??

I love this forum so very much. I just went and snagged that for my whole family for my May 2020 cruise even though me and my mom don't drink since $18 is cheaper than the Refreshment sale price lately. And if this means that my dad can freely order wine and beer, then all the better! 

Omg!  I just checked all 4 of my sailings and they are all at $18/day as well!  Booked it for now.

I just called and the lady and her supervisor both just said the price will stay unless I cancelled. I got her to to repeat it and she said the calls are recorded. So I'm not quite sure how they could go back on that now? lol